Customer Reviews

Clicks & Cuts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Minimalist music is music that is barely there--music that usually repeats simple, bare-bones rhythms and melodies until they have exhausted both the listener and the artist. This type of music is certainly popular among some, but I'm usually bored after the first few songs. However, Mille Plateaux's Clicks_+_Cuts offers a different, more interesting roadmap for this genre. Following the lead of Pole (aka Stefan Betke), the diverse artists that contribute to this 2 CD collection have managed to make minimal music that both retains the trademarks of the minimal school and offers new avenues for experimentation. In other words, this album retains the repetition of minimalism, but incorporates into this repetition new and unusual sounds, odd time signatures, and even some interesting song structures. If you have heard Pole's first album, then you'll have a sense of what to expect here--a plethora of (as the title suggests) clicks and cuts, static, looped samples, dub effects, a variety of programmed drum and synth patterns, and a whole host of other, interesting sounds. Dettinger's "Strange Fruit," for example, starts with clicks and flanged bubble synth sounds, which meld into a backwards rhythm (clicks now in the background) that slowly builds into a larger, forward-moving 303 rhythm. That rhythm expands and does weird things with rhythm manipulation and time signatures, then abruptly stops. This music is challenging, unusual, and original. It's great fun, too, which is something I usually don't say about minimalism.

Mille Plateaux has done it again with this fantastic 2-disc collection of minimalist techno tracks. Don't expect this to put you on a dancefloor, though you may occasionally tap your feet. The usual Mille Plateaux suspects make an appearance (Curd Duca, snd, Noto, Panacea) alongside some up and coming names (Vladislav Delay, Frank Bretschneider, Kit Clayton) and some more established musicians (Pole, Pansonic, Stilluppsteypa, Kid 606, Mike Ink, as All). Coil coined the phrase "Worship the Glitch" but these artists took it to heart by putting together this collection of false starts, clicks, pops, errors and tweaks. The second disc goes even further outside conventional music boundaries by straying from metered sequencing and making extensive use of more "difficult" sounds and glitches. There are no real standout tracks here, and due to the nature of the music, despite it being a compilation it flows like an album. Thumbs up to Mille Plateaux for shining through again.

Often, music offerings by "various" artists can be a gamble, depending on the taste of whoever compiled the tracks. This release is an exception to the rule, a good place to discover what minimal glitch/dub, slightly experimental electronic music sounds like, and leading to possible future purchases by the listed artists. Thus saving money on needless purchases by unfamiliar artists. It also helps avoid the bane of much minimal music, the tedium that can occur from listening to too many overlong, similar tracks by one artist. The other "clicks and cuts" releases are also recommended for the same reasons.

First thoughts:

Gosh, you can either do not very much, or a heck of a lot, with very little (all power to minimalism!). The best of the best here - Pole, Vladislav Delay, Neina, Dettinger and Goem at my first hearing - make a lot of little. The worst of the worst - Reinhard Voight's "Matrix" - is 3 mins 18 secs of wasted space to this punter. Nothing's happening, so why bother! Minimalist doesn't have to be boring.

I would have liked to hear more than one and a bit minutes of Curd Duca. Ester Brinkmann's 'Maschine', while more interesting than the Reinhard Voight offering, leaves me pretty cold. For weird, Ihan's "Sans Titre No 2" is a great little glitch journey.

Overall, a great buy, just to get an overview of this genre. Also makes me realise how Markus Popp (Oval) and Stefan Betke (Pole) have got this genre pegged. The '94 Diskont' and 'CD1' albums respectively from these two glitch-gurus beat most of these offerings hands down! I think the difference is the warm musicality of both, even taking into account the starkness of some of their work.

For those willing to go outside the popular music genre, try any of these 'classical' minimalist composers for a good listen of somewhat more 'analogue' minimal sound:

- Arvo Part (try "Fratres", "Tabula Rasa" etc on EMI Classics for a taste of warm, 'spiritual' minimalism)
- Henryk Gorecki (Symphony No3 is one of the most stunning pieces of minimalist music ever made - try the el-cheapo Naxos recording, which is also by far the best)
- Anton Webern (Orchestral Music conducted by Pierre Boulez on Deutsche Gramaphon is great starting point) - this composer makes everything out of not much at all
- John Cage ("Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano" on Naxos is a cheap and rivetting version of this fabulous music, some driven, some reflective, but always engaging)

In a time where overpaid, Grammy-winning, self-proclaimed "artists" are considered to be steering the course of music, it's always a relief to come across folks who concoct art born out of sheer concept. The mission statement behind "Clicks and Cuts" is to imagine music as a true organic creation, with the seemingly anarchic rhythms of the wilderness.

To its merit, "Clicks and Clicks" provides a genuine futurist manifesto about how music may exist in the early 00's, where the years have rapidly gone by and age is gradually decaying Man's creations.

As for the tracks themselves, I find that the standouts are the most musical. Pole included what is perhaps their best song, Ester Frankmann, Jake Mandell and a few others offer some great Apexian delirium.

Although there are a few misfires, which stem from being over-minimalistic,overall,listeners with a patient ear and no obligatory need for Bootsy Collins basslines and stolen disco beats may have a mind-bending experience with "Clicks and Cuts."

I would say this is a good place for someone not familiar with this kind of stuff to start, though prolly any place is as good as another when it comes to minimalist electronics. Prolly better than just picking up a Pole or Oval cd. Good stuff if you leave it on all day.